Shift 2 Unleashed announced

Slightly Mad Studios' Shift 2 Unleashed will be released during the spring of 2011 for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, EA's announced.

Shift is EA's Gran Turismo and Forza killer – it's designed to offer an authentic simulation racing experience in contrast to the arcade racing found in Criterion's Hot Pursuit.

The first Shift sold through close to five million copies worldwide, according to EA. Shift 2 brings an "all-new" rendering engine and a "massive" graphics overhaul.

"With an innovative helmet camera view simulating the physical experience of driving at 200mph, the thrilling experience of night racing and authentic degradation of tracks and cars, this is tomorrow's sim for today's adrenaline fuelled racer," said EA.

Hot Pursuit's Autolog feature, which connects friends and compares stats, returns.

Shift 2 "is redefining immersive racing by blending the rush of tearing up the track at unbelievable speeds with the emotional experience of competitive battle" said executive producer Marcus Nilsson.

"We are also working closely with real-world performance drivers to ensure that Shift 2 Unleashed captures their experience and becomes the benchmark in authentic racing action."

The announcement comes as no surprise: Shift 2's been mentioned here and there for over a year.

And only two weeks ago EA executive Patrick Soderlund told Eurogamer he hopes the Shift series will overtake Sony's Gran Turismo series and Microsoft's Forza franchise as gaming's leading simulation racer.

"We think we can compete and ultimately become market leading in the simulation authentic motorsport segment," he said.

"One of the strongest points we have is, apart from the fact we have a very talented developer working with us and we now have an established brand underneath the NFS umbrella in that segment, we also have the advantage of being a multi-platform offering.

"Forza can only be bought on Xbox and Gran Turismo is only available on PlayStation. We're the only one right now that is of a significant weight that can offer something up on all those platforms."

Announcement trailer is below.